Maine’s lobbyist disclosure laws are among the nation’s most comprehensive, but many other ethics regulations are weak, and the legislature often makes important budget decisions in secret. Read more from SII State Reporters Naomi Schalit, Lance Tapley, and John Christie.

AUGUSTA -- Maine’s "F" grade from the State Integrity Investigation has led to a number of reforms in the state's ethics rules this year, including a bipartisan transparency bill proposed by Gov. Paul LePage that he signed into law last week.

The reforms also include two bills signed by the governor to stop the so-called “revolving door” at the statehouse, where lawmakers and executive branch officials leave government service and go directly to work as lobbyists.

AUGUSTA — The state’s Republican governor and a leading Democratic legislator have teamed up to try to improve the ethical standards for both elected and appointed state officials.

A bill unveiled this week by Gov. Paul LePage and Sen. Emily Cain of Orono will require greater disclosure of the financial and political interests of legislators and high-ranking executive branch officials.

Lawmakers in Maine have begun debating a series of ethics reform bills that would close the revolving door between government and lobbying and strengthen financial disclosure requirements for legislators and some executive branch officials. In a hearing today, advocates for reform faced of with a representative of Gov. Paul LePage, who opposes the new revolving door proposals for the executive branch.

As reported by the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, the hearing focused on just one of many reform bills proposed this session. Maine received an F grade from the State Integrity Investigation, a data-driven analysis of state government transparency and ethics. Sponsors of several of the separate bills have cited the state's poor showing as a reason for proposing new reforms.

Legislation to make it unlawful for state officials to leave their jobs and immediately go to work for industries they regulated – the so-called “revolving door” – is one of several ethics bills expected to be debated in the legislature this session.

Rep. Adam Goode, D-Bangor, has sponsored legislation requiring executive employees “in a major policy-influencing position” to wait one year before accepting a job with “a business activity that is regulated by the state or quasi-state agency by which the former executive employee was employed.”

PACs and Super PACs have been the focus of presidential election coverage this year, but the issue is alive in the states too. In Maine, the ethics commission is now looking into whether a state senator improperly coordinated with one Republican PAC.